


what we both hold dear

by mistykasumi (oultrepreu)



Category: Prince of Tennis
Genre: 500-999 words, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-06
Updated: 2006-12-06
Packaged: 2017-10-03 09:25:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oultrepreu/pseuds/mistykasumi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renji and Akaya and Seiichi.</p>
            </blockquote>





	what we both hold dear

**Author's Note:**

> Written for reposoir. I've been meaning to write you a yanakiri drabble ever since I learned that you like them. Unfortunately, I seem to be unable to write anything tenipuri lately without inserting Yukimura in, so yeah, healthy dose of Yukimura. :D

It is raining when they leave the locker room. Akaya does not have an umbrella, so Renji offers to walk him home. Akaya says, _it's okay, Yanagi-senpai. I want to visit buchou_, and Renji says he doesn't mind stopping by the hospital on their way.

Akaya is silent on the way there, and Renji expects this. Seiichi means much to their team, especially to the three of them, Akaya, Genichirou, and him. The trip to the hospital is almost like a pilgrimage to some sacred temple. That is Seiichi's worth.

Seiichi is awake when they visit, and he looks bored until he sees them. The smile that greets them is bright, very typical Seiichi, and it is something none of them can resist. _Thank you for coming to visit me_, he says, and there is a wistfulness in his voice.

Mostly, Akaya talks. He sits by Seiichi's bedside, folds his arms onto the bed and rests his chin there, and Renji becomes acutely aware of how _young_ Akaya really is, how young all of them are. Akaya is in the posture of a child, a child waiting for something, and that puts Seiichi into a position of…brother? Idol? Role model? Renji does not know.

Akaya tells Seiichi about his grades, his tennis, his video games, his life, and Seiichi smiles indulgently, idly ruffles Akaya's hair once in a while. There is something between the two of them that Renji will never be able to intrude upon, and Renji is not sure if he should feel jealous or not, about that and about the fact that Akaya doesn't let anyone else touch his hair.

_Yanagi-senpai is tutoring me in English_, Akaya says, and Seiichi smiles at Renji, fingers tangled in Akaya's curls. If Seiichi were anyone else, Renji would be affronted, but he does not know how to take offense at Seiichi, so he does not.

Eventually, a nurse enters the room and shoos them away. Akaya promises to visit again soon; as they leave, Seiichi looks at Renji, and Renji hears what he does not say. _I expect you back soon_, and Renji knows he will be.

It is no longer raining when they exit the hospital. Akaya asks Renji to accompany him home anyway, _just in case it starts raining again_. Renji recognizes it as an excuse and agrees anyway. They pass by an arcade along the way, and Akaya slows down.

_If you do well on the English test Friday, I'll treat you here,_ Renji says. Akaya turns to him, excited, and says, _will you give me some extra tutoring, Yanagi-senpai?_, and Renji readily agrees. This is perhaps a little underhanded, but that is the path Renji often must take.

When they reach Akaya's house, Akaya invites him in for the promised extra tutoring. The house is empty, and as Renji follows Akaya to his bedroom, he remembers what Kirihara-san said when she had first met him. _It's a pleasure to meet you, Renji. You are the first friend Akaya's brought home_. Renji also knows that he is the only one Akaya has brought home.

Akaya shucks off his backpack and digs out his English textbook as soon as he enters his room. Renji watches him move to his desk, sit down, wait. This is something Seiichi will never see, he knows, because Seiichi is so precious to them both. They will always listen to Seiichi before anyone else, and because of that, Seiichi will never be one of _them_. It is Renji's company Akaya keeps the most.

Renji sits next to Akaya and thinks, _this is good enough_.

06.12.06


End file.
